KARACHI, June 16: The bomb disposal unit has no device to defuse a live bomb, a security official told the tribunal probing the Nishtar Park blast on Friday. Sub-inspector Musaab Husain of the police special branch (security wing) said in reply to a question that the standard practice on receiving bomb threat information is to inspect the site.

He and other unit officials would first look at the bomb with binoculars to ascertain whether it was connected to a remote control and would probably be exploded if they go near it. If the device was not remote-controlled, it is X-rayed to inactivate the fuse. He replied in the negative when asked whether his unit has an X-ray machine.

“How do you defuse a live bomb then? the tribunal asked. “People pray to the Almighty and we recite Kalima”, he replied.

At the end of the proceedings on Friday, the tribunal, which consists of Justice Rahmat Hussain Jafferi of the Sindh High Court, regretted the lack of response from the media, particularly TV channels, to his appeal for any film or material on the explosion or the venue of the April 11 meeting. No questions would be asked and the material could be anonymously delivered even to his peon.

To a suggestion by Advocate Javaid Ahmed Chhatari, Pakistan Sunni Movement counsel, that he should visit the site himself, Justice Jafferi said he also thought of it and, in fact, went there once but the visit was of no use. It was too late for an on-the-spot inspection.

The judge asked Additional Advocate-General Sarwar Khan to find out who erected the stage for QTV’s Naatia mushaira on April 10. The stage was used for the April 11 Eid-i-Milad function and it was necessary to know its dimensions and the material used in it. The tribunal’s terms of reference were so wide that it required the maximum information. Nobody should be discouraged from approaching it. At the same time, he agreed with the AAG, that nobody should be allowed to take undue advantage of the proceedings or their coverage by the media. He said the movie delivered by the Jamshed Town police officer would soon be available on the SHC website along with the statements recorded so far.

The SI earlier submitted that after thoroughly scanning the stage and the surrounding area with an explosives finder or metal detector, he only ‘visually’ checked the loudspeakers installed all around the park. Garbage dumps along the route of the main procession were also ‘visually’ checked. He had no idea of the area of the park but rejected the suggestion that it should have taken him about four hours and half to ‘sweep’ or search the entire park for explosives according to the standard procedure. He also checked a tent put up at some distance from the stage and the chairs and tables lying there with the metal detector.

The witness said there were no pillows on the stage but failed to recall whether there was any piece of furniture near the stage. He made no mention of the stool visible in the police movie. He had not seen a time bomb and had not dealt with any incident of suicide bombing. He also did not know whether any part of a suicide bomber’s body could remain intact after the blast.

According to him, there were no written instructions to be followed for probing a bomb threat. Confronted with his brief statement to the investigation officer under Section 161 of the criminal procedure code and asked what kept him from giving details to the IO, the witness said he answered all the questions posed by the police official.

The tribunal had elicited information from him by asking questions. Advocate Chhatari said being the only technician in the bomb disposal squad ‘who knows something about explosives’ and as shift in charge of the unit that checked the venue, he should have given detailed information. Inspector Iqbal, the head of the squad, would be examined on Saturday.